Automatic controlling appliance for railway-trains.



E. S. BIDDLE.

AUTOMATIC CONTROLLING APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAY TRAINS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 20. 1918.

1,297,783, Patented Mar. 18,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

E. S. BIDDLE.

AUTOMATIC CONTROLLING APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAY TRAINS. APPLICATION FILEDAPR. 20. l9l8.

1,297,783; Patented Mar. 18,1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- E. S. BIDDLE.

AUTOMATLC CONTROLLING APPLIANCE FOR RAILWAYTRAINS.

. APPLICATJON FILED APR. 20. 191B. l,29?,783.

Patented Mar. 18, 1919.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.-

ig". J4.

EUGENE S. BIDDLE, OF MUNCY, PENNSYLVANIA.

AUTOMATIC CONTROLLING APPLIANCE'FOR RAILWAY-TRAINS. 1

To all whom itvmay concern.

Be it known that I, EUGENE S. BIDDLE,EL citizen of the. United States ofAmerica, re sidiln at Muncy, in the county of Lycoming an AutomaticControlling Appliances for Railway-Trains, of which the following -is aspecification.

This invention-relates to improvements in What may be termed automaticcon-trolling appliances for railway trains. Y Theinventionhas primarilyfor its ,object to automatically effect the application of theair-brakes of a railway train for re,-

tarding the movement thereof at required points. or stations and to.carry out that end in a simple, ready and effective manner.

Further objects of the invention will suggest themselves 'as the natureof the invention is more: fully made known and its characteristics arelater pointed out and the invention therefore consistsof certaininstrumentalities and features of construction sub- 'stantially ashereinafter fully described and defined by the claims. 1 H I V j In theaccompan "ng drawing jis illustrated the preferred embodiment. of myinvention wherein it will be understood that various changes andmodifications a'sto the detailed construction and arrangement of partsmay be made without departing from the spirit or scope of the appendedclaims,

and which drawings:

Figure 1 isa vlew n side elevation showing my invention as applle'd foruse in connection with an engine of the locomotive type and itstrackage;

. I brakes.

Fig. 2 is a similar view of the same, with theengme cab shownskeletonized or diagrammatically Fig. 3 is an enlarged detailed view ofthe star-wheel trip-rod and the automatic airbrake'valve connection; a

Fig. 4 is a fragmental sectional view, showing myinvention, in part,applied to the engineers lever, for controlling the air- Fig. 5 isa-plan Fig. 4; l

Fig. 6 is a fragmental detailedview showing the guide and verticallyretaining means for the train stop rod-member. V 5 Fig. 7 is a side vi"of the lever 20.

view of the parts shown in Specification of Letters Patent.

tate of Pennsylvania, have invente certa n new and useful Improvementsin position along the trackage or. railway -tarded.

Patented Mai-. 18, 1919.

7 Application filed April 20, 1918. Serial No. 229,721.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of pawl and ratchet mechanism.

In carrying out. my inventlon I suita ly upon the outside of theright-hand rail, preferably a tubular rod-like or pipe member 1, thesame being suitably and fixedly supported in any suitable way, upon therail-ties as shown, said rod or pipe member being equipped with aplurality of tiltable projections 2 intervaled apart say twentyfivefeet, there being preferably eight of these projections or stops, andprojecting about five or six inches from said r0d; the length of saidprojections, however, may be varied as desired. The rod or pipe 1 isadaptedto be operated, together with the signal or semaphore (not shown)by means of a manually actuated lever 3, positioned within a station 1or signaling tower (not shown). i

, A preferably star-likespoke d rotary member or wheel 4 adapted toengage the projections 2 of the reciprocal rod 1, is fixed,

to occupy a horizontal position, .to the lower are radually applied andthe train-slowed An undulatory-faced member or disk 6 is adapted toserve as a safety-device to prevent the rod 5 and star wheel or member 4turning any more than one eighth of the distance traveled at one time,said 'diskbeing secured to the undersideof the engine cab-floor, and theface of this member or disk 6 forcibly engages a resilient detent or dog7 carried by the rod. 5 whereby the rotation of the rod 5 andstar-wheels is re- The rod. 5 has appliedthereto withifi the l groove orrace 9 containing a plurality of anti-frictional balls or bearings 10,providing-for reducing friction and the free turn- 10 ing movement ofthe rod. Overlying and resting upon the base plate S is a'keeper 11housing the antifrictional preferaibly steel balls 10 within the grooveor race9 but not interfering with the mobility thereoflthe fasteningbolts 8 for securing the base plate or disk to the cab-floor serving tosecure said keeper in its placef-Resting upon and preventing the upwarddisplacement of the bearings or balls 10, and positioned intermediatethereof an'd'the keeper 11 is a ca 12 having a tubular neck-portion 13exten ing upwardly through an opening in the keeper 11, and a shortdistance around and receiving the rod 5, said neck having a headed-andnut-equipped bolt 14: passing therethrough and through said rod for theretention of said cap in place upon the latter.

A ratchet 15 is suitably applled to the rod or shaft 5, withintheengine-cab B and has engaged therewith a resiliently controlled pawl16 for returning the handle of the engineers'lever to oil' position.

Applied'or fixed to the upper end of the rod or shaft 5 is a cog wheelor ponion 17 supported in a bracket 18,'secured to the engine boiler,said pinion or cog being interg eared with a link or rack-bar 19connected to a "lever 20'of'the air-b'rake-valve 40; As shown in Fig.4L, the stem ZI'eX-tends up throughpthe automatic brake-valve andreceives thereon the engineers lever B. The lever 20 is adapted tofitupon an upward extension 23 onthe engineers lever 3 and is formed withfalug or extension 22iwhich engages or contact with 's'aid engineers'lever 3, whereby movement ofthe lever 20 is communicated to theengineers lever. It will thus be seen that the air brake valve will beactuated .through this arrangement duringthe movement of the engine ortrain and the engineers lever be accordingly operated or thrown by thelug 22 and the air-brakes be simultaneously applied, bringing the englneor train to a stop.

' As 'pre'viou'sly stated, it will be appreciated that numerous changesmay be resorted to i'fi'the various details as relates to improvisingand'substituting parts so long as these fall-within the breadth of myinvention as covered by the claims appended hereto. "I'el aiin: H p

1. device of thetype described including means positioned. alongside atrack-rail, means carried by a moving body adapted to 65 cooperate withthe aforesaid means, an engineers lever having a tubular extension, andair-brake controlling means comprising a valve, the'stem ofwhiclilis'adapted for the application thereto of said tubular extension of theengineers lever, said air-brake valve having connected thereto a rack,in tergeared with the mean's e06 erating with the means positioned alongt e track-rail, said air-brake lever having a pendent. stud laterallyengagingv said engineers lever. 2'. A deviceofthe type described, including means embracing a shaft paralleling the railway track andjcarryin{"tilt'abl rojec tions disposed alongtherallof the tra'e'k,a rotaryspoked actu atind'. meansfor engagingj'said tiltablejprojections, ai'rbra'ke controlling means, an engineers lever, and in' termediary meansfor'efiecting engagement withsalid tiltable projections nd neans causingsaid brake controlling-mean to throw said engineers lever.

3. The combination with a "ovingbody alongthe rails ofa railway,depress'ible pro jections positioned upon a member para/Heb iii'gsaidrails, .a' member ca riedgby saidnioyin'g body and adapted toengagegsaidgda pressible projections, means for impa r-ting anintermittently rotary movement to the in" te'rm'ittently rotary member,jair-brake ac'tu ating mea ns, an engineers lever arranged to beautomatically actuated bysaid airebr'ake actuating means,- meansintermediary of said depressible pro ec'tion "engaging means and saldair-brake actuating means, for causing said air-brake actuating meansjtothrow said engineers lever,- and means 'toefl'ect} theinterm'ittent'rotary movement of said projec tion engaging means, f

' 4. The combination of means havingQdepressible projections arranged.along a rail- 10 5 way rail, a means ha'ving an intermittent rotarymotion and" adapted to engage said depressible projections, an air-brakevalve actuating means, an engineers lever, means intermediary saidmeans, and said air valv'e actuating means for actuating! said rotarymeans, and causing said air-brake actuating means to throw saidengineers lever. I

V 5. The combination of means'havin'gdepressible projections andpositioned for 'acjtuation' along a railway rail, a rotary means forengaging said projections, an air-brake actuating means, a;n1em'bercarryin gsaid mtary means, an intergeared rack-bar and pinion betweensaid rotary carryingmember means adapted to engage said depressiblcprojections, means carrying said depressible projection engaging means,means for ac tuating said carrying means, and an undulatory faced memberpositioned upon said carrying means, said carrying means being providedwith a resiliently controlled means for engagement with said undulatoryfaced member, said undulatory faced member to predeter he theintermittent movement of 10 said carrying means and the means 'forengaging said depressible projections.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two Witnesses.

EUGENE S. BIDDLE. Witnesses:

E. C. Wmm'rs, GEO. E. DUNN.

Copies of this .patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Iatents,

. Washington, D. G.

